Written Answers Wednesday 7 September 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken to ascertain how antisocial behaviour associated with binge drinking can be reduced.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive have commissioned a number of relevant research projects, and have more planned for the future. Research on tackling binge drinking was commissioned on behalf of the Nicholson Committee as part of its review of liquor licensing law. We are also conducting a programme of research looking at ways to reduce all kinds of antisocial behaviour, including rowdy or loutish behaviour resulting from binge drinking.

Birds

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the effect of all proposed wind farms will be on the eagle population; whether it will publish (a) the best available estimates of the eagle population in each of the last six years and (b) its estimate of the future population of eagles, and whether it has had communications with Scottish Natural Heritage in relation to this issue and, if so, whether it will publish any relevant documentation.

Rhona Brankin: It is not possible to forecast accurately what the effect, if any, of all proposed wind farms will be on the eagle population as many projects are still in the process of environmental survey and evaluation.

  Golden eagle populations are not estimated annually. National surveys take place approximately every 10 years. The last survey was in 2003, and estimated the Scottish population at 442 breeding pairs. In 1992, the estimate was 425 pairs. It is difficult to make firm predictions of the future population size of a species but I am advised that large changes in the eagle population of Scotland in the short- to medium-term are unlikely.

  Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) advises the Scottish Executive on the possible effects of proposed wind farms, and is monitoring the cumulative impact of such developments. Comments from SNH on Environmental Statements relating to wind farm proposals are publicly available unless they make specific reference to sensitive environmental information.

Crofting

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much land under crofting tenure has been subject to compulsory purchase orders in each year since 1999 and for what purposes, broken down by location.

Johann Lamont: This information is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards ensure that community dental services are made available to people with specific mental and physical disorders.

Lewis Macdonald: All NHS boards should provide such services as the objectives of the community dental service includes providing a safety net service for the care of special groups, for example adults and children with special needs, who may have difficulty in receiving treatment in general dental services.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to publish an energy efficiency strategy.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive announced on 7 December 2004 its plans to publish an energy efficiency strategy for Scotland. The strategy will set a framework, define objectives and create a more joined–up approach for energy efficiency interventions by the Executive. We expect to publish the strategy later this year.

Environment

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent the spread of ragwort and other dangerous weeds.

Ross Finnie: In Scotland, all written complaints received by the Environment and Rural Affairs Department about ragwort, and the other four weeds specified in the Weeds Act 1959 (spear thistle, creeping or field thistle, broad-leaved dock and curled dock) are investigated by the staff in the department’s area offices. The act places responsibility for the control of these weeds on the occupier of the land in question.

  Where scheduled weeds are found on agricultural land, the occupier is asked to take control action to control the spread of the weeds. Where weeds are found on other land, the case is referred to the appropriate authority.

  Where persuasion fails to secure action, the Executive will serve a notice requiring the occupier to take control action within a specified period. Failure to comply with this notice is an offence, and can lead to prosecution. The Executive has served five notices in the last ten years. It has not been necessary to bring prosecutions in any of these cases.

  The Weeds Act 1959 also empowers Scottish ministers to take control action themselves and recover the costs of this action from the occupier of the land.

  It is already an offence to plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild certain invasive non-native plants including giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Penalties on summary conviction include imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine not exceeding £40,000.

  A Horticultural Code of Practice for Scotland was launched on 1 June 2005. This provides practical information on how to help prevent the spread of undesirable plants, including invasive non-native species (this can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/invasivespecies).

Environment

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage landowners to remove ragwort and other dangerous weeds from their land.

Ross Finnie: The General Environmental Conditions for the Countryside Premium Scheme and Rural Stewardship Scheme require that any participant in one of these agri-environment schemes must control injurious weeds listed in the Weeds Act 1959, to prevent their spread and to avoid the risk of damage to the conservation interest of any habitat or feature on the unit.

  The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department has produced a weeds guidance document for the public. This leaflet provides information about recognising ragwort, its toxicity and dangers, methods of control and disposal, the procedure for making a formal complaint, and contact details for all the department’s area offices. The leaflet is available from any of the department’s sixteen area offices around Scotland.

  Our proposals for a draft Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill seek to impose a duty on people to ensure that an animal’s needs are met. This includes its need to be protected from injury, pain and suffering. Allowing a horse or other grazing animal vulnerable to ragwort poisoning to graze on ragwort would be an offence.

  Support for the control of invasive non-native plants such as giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) may in certain circumstances be available from Scottish Natural Heritage in areas where nature conservation interests are threatened.

Further Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the PFI contract for West Lothian College.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Further Education Funding Council has responsibility for funding Scotland’s further education colleges and promoting their financial stability.

  As part of that responsibility, the Funding Council is currently reviewing options for the future of West Lothian College’s PPP contract.

Health

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement of an additional £65 million to provide modern facilities for patients and staff in the NHS, how medical practices, such as the Hermitage and Mayfield medical practices in Edinburgh, which have identified new premises but require additional finance in order to move, should apply for the necessary funding.

Mr Andy Kerr: These funds will target specific initiatives. Full details will be announced in due course. Practices should continue to liaise directly with their NHS board who are responsible for establishing development priorities.

Housing

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated number of houses with unfilled cavity walls is and what level of CO 2 emissions this represents, expressed in metric tonnes of carbon (MtC).

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
The Scottish House Condition Survey 2002 (SHCS2002) estimated that approximately 780,000 dwellings with cavity walls had no additional insulation or only partial additional insulation. 


  It is estimated that approximately 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year would be saved if all cavities were insulated.

Housing

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties have been demolished to date under the Glasgow housing stock transfer process.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
The total confirmed number of properties which have been demolished by Glasgow Housing Association since the Glasgow housing stock transfer is 2,605.

Justice

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to recover the costs incurred in supervising Steven Beech from the UK authorities; what costs were incurred during his time in Scotland, and what steps have been taken to review the arrangements between the Scottish and UK authorities in such cases.

Cathy Jamieson: The arrangements, which are in place between the Scottish and UK authorities to protect the public, work on a reciprocal basis. However, at the time of his arrival in Aberdeen in March 2002, Mr Beech’s legal status was such that there was no formal statutory requirement for supervision on the part of any UK jurisdiction and as a UK citizen he was at liberty to reside anywhere within the UK. The question of recovery of costs did not therefore arise.

  As a result of the extent and nature of his previous criminal record and the assessment of his risk, the decision was then taken to put in place with immediate effect an intensive monitoring and support package. The Scottish Executive agreed to meet the costs of the supervision package under Section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. The principal components of this funding package were the accommodation costs incurred by Aberdeen City Council and the 24 hours supervision services provided by SACRO on behalf of the authority. The cost of these services was as follows.

  

Year
Amount


2001-02
£18,888.23


2002-03
£318,982.59


2003-04
£99,949.53


Total
£437,820.35



  In addition, Grampian Police incurred costs of £7,238.16.

  The funding issues involved in this type of case are fortunately rare and require to be considered on a case by case basis to ensure appropriate resources are in place to maintain community safety. It is considered that overall these provisions work well and there presently are no plans to review the arrangements.

Police

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place regarding the creation of a police ombudsman with responsibilities in relation to all of Scotland’s police forces.

Hugh Henry: We will be establishing a new Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland in the forthcoming Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

  The new commissioner will bring even greater levels of transparency and robust independent scrutiny to the police complaints system, building on the high standards the Scottish public have a right to expect from our modern police service.

Police

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each Scottish Premier League club and Scottish Football League club paid towards the cost of policing games in each of the last three football seasons.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

  Such arrangements are agreed between the clubs and the relevant police authorities.

Rail Services

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which routes on the ScotRail network are profitable.

Tavish Scott: Under the Franchise Agreement, the costs associated with the operation of rail services are transparent and full information on revenue levels is obtained by the Scottish Executive. However, financial information on profitability of individual routes is not available, as it is commercially confidential.

Social Inclusion

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the administration costs have been in each social inclusion partnership in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The amounts claimed for administration costs in each of the last five years are shown in the following table:

  

SIP
2000-01
(£)
2001-02
(£)
2002-03
(£)
2003-04
(£)
2004-05
(£)


Aberdeen Great Northern
20,000
21,250
21,781
22,326
22,328


Argyll and Bute
0
0
0
0
0


Edinburgh North
51,575
57,662
54,127
53,442
63,280


Edinburgh South
17,889
26,118
36,535
45,292
50,165


Edinburgh Strategic Programme
12,450
12,756
9,072
9,607
10,098


Edinburgh Youth 
13,512
13,956
13,887
14,463
15,090


Edinburgh Craigmillar
40,185
44,457
44,565
44,260
47,904


Alloa South and East
7,616
23,407
25,950
0
0


Dundee Young Carers
2,500
2,600
2,732
4,300
4,300


Dundee SIP 1
50,100
52,250
57,644
59,642
62,065


Dundee SIP 2
10,950
10,446
10,678
8,754
8,754


Dundee Xplore
10,250
14,806
13,905
12,780
12,780


East Ayrshire Coalfields
0
30,000
30,000
30,000
30,000


Tranent
0
0
0
0
0


Levern Valley
0
0
0
0
0


Falkirk
1,171
0
0
0
0


Fife
819
0
8,263
0
0


Frae Fife
4,119
0
1,733
3,376
0


Glasgow Smaller Areas
17,972
32,292
48,037
58,501
58,501


Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance
19,513
14,499
21,383
21,880
21,880


Glasgow Big Step
12,825
11,183
13,334
14,073
14,073


Glasgow Drumchapel
47,747
49,154
71,063
73,555
73,555


Glasgow East End
54,650
53,661
77,921
83,314
85,306


Glasgow Gorbals
14,425
14,941
20,461
24,023
24,023


Glasgow Greater Easterhouse
78,525
64,550
94,073
99,732
101,724


Glasgow Greater Govan
9,011
17,315
33,812
45,401
45,401


Glasgow Greater Pollok
31,103
55,089
83,171
95,755
70,755


Glasgow Milton
14,100
18,262
21,497
24,026
24,026


Glasgow North
65,805
55,992
83,740
86,845
88,837


Glasgow Routes Out
7,828
6,629
8,408
8,581
8,581


Glasgow Springburn
17,422
16,152
24,200
25,258
25,258


Highlands and Islands
8,891
0
0
0
0


Inverclyde
48,900
48,330
49,540
50,780
0


Moray Youthstart
8,021
0
0
0
0


North Ayrshire
797
1,552
0
0
0


Motherwell North
36,176
39,246
37,408
43,222
35,053


North Lanarkshire
17,469
21,140
12,656
13,352
10,000


South Coatbridge
13,637
18,235
19,455
18,892
16,275


GO-Perth
0
0
5,279
5,411
0


Ferguslie Park 
20,365
0
0
0
0


Paisley 1
70,798
86,725
74,487
75,036
83,349


Scottish Borders
599
3,992
2,983
2,500
5,116


Girvan
5,370
0
0
0
11,496


North Ayr
31,711
38,925
0
0
42,511


Blantyre/North Hamilton
0
1,440
0
1,273
1,576


Cambuslang
0
1,440
0
0
0


Stirling
11,074
11,815
10,830
6,707
6,488


West Dunbartonshire
38,220
50,634
50,110
55,890
61,397


West Lothian
6,400
3,010
0
0
4,294


Total
952,490
1,045,911
1,194,720
1,242,249
1,246,239



  Note: 1. From 1 April 2001 includes Ferguslie Park.

Social Inclusion

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was awarded to each social inclusion partnership in Glasgow in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows.

  The following table shows the total funding awarded to each social inclusion partnership in Glasgow in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

  

SIP
2003-04
(£)
2004-05
(£)


Glasgow Smaller Areas
2,449,009
2,733,349


Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance
875,206
875,206


Big Step
562,908
572,908


Drumchapel
3,019,141
3,286,792


East End
3,462,013
3,912,256


Gorbals
960,939
960,939


Greater Easterhouse
4,094,520
4,068,980


Greater Govan
1,831,744
2,743,849


Greater Pollok
3,886,195
3,180,087


Milton
1,000,460
1,088,106


Glasgow North
3,645,007
3,793,537


Routes Out
407,162
358,222


Springburn
1,062,305
1,098,290

Speed Cameras

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many speed cameras there have been in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number of speed camera devices operated by the police is not held centrally. Information is available, however, for safety camera sites operated by safety camera partnerships as part of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme. This information is provided in the following table. The figures given include camera locations that may have been operated by the police prior to the Safety Camera Programme.

  Chief Constables also have the autonomy to carry out speed enforcement at any location outside of the programme. This activity is not collected and therefore not included in the following table.

  

Year
Programme Expansion
Number of Cameras Accepted into the Programme Year on Year*


Average Speed Camera Systems
Fixed Sites
Mobile Sites
Total


2000-02
Pilot project involving Strathclyde – area covered by Glasgow City Council only
0
29
0
29


2002-03
Strathclyde expands to cover 4 local authoritiesFife joins Programme April 2002North East Partnership joins October 2002
0
75
129
204


2003-04
Strathclyde Partnership expands to cover 12 local authoritiesDumfries and Galloway joins July 2003Lothian and Borders joins July 2003Tayside joins July 2003
0
181
245
426


2004-05
Northern Partnership joins July 2004Lothian and Borders expands to include West Lothian Council area July 2004
0
181
309
490


2005-06
No new partnership areas, SPECS system installed on A77 July 2005
1
182
315
498



  Note: *Figures given are for all camera sites accepted into the Scottish Safety Camera Programme and are correct at 31 August 2005. Camera numbers can vary due to additional sites being accepted into the programme during the year and operational decisions on camera usage and deployment. The figures given are based on information supplied by safety camera partnerships. As partnerships and the programme have expanded, additional geographic areas have been included where camera sites may already have been operated by the police in conjunction with the roads authorities. Central Scotland is not currently part of the programme and therefore no figures are included for this area.

Water Services

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in replacing lead piping, broken down by local authority.

Rhona Brankin: This is a matter in which both Scottish Water and local authorities have responsibilities.

  In relation to Scottish Water, I have asked the Chief Executive to write to you about this matter. I would also note that there are no lead water mains in Scotland. Part VIA of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 as amended places a duty on Scottish Water to supply water which is wholesome at the time of supply, and insofar as reasonably practicable to ensure in relation to the sources from which it supplies water, that there is no deterioration in the quality of water supplied from these sources.

  The following table shows the number of Housing Repair Grants awarded by local authorities which include some element of lead pipe replacement. Although it cannot be said with certainty whether all lead piping was removed from these houses, some action has been taken in these properties. In addition, some private homeowners may have done work without grant, do not appear on any records.

  Number of Grants for Lead Repair Work by Local Authority Area: 1998-99 to 2003-04

  

Financial year
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Scotland
1,991
1,967
1,582
1,780
1,637
1,367


Aberdeen City
21
16
22
13
14
18


Aberdeenshire
1
-
2
-
-
2


Angus
12
8
7
7
5
7


Argyll and Bute
24
15
9
18
15
15


Clackmannanshire
1
16
1
4
-
5


Dumfries and Galloway
2
3
-
2
-
2


Dundee City
9
-
4
2
11
15


East Ayrshire
1
31
26
1
-
8


East Dunbartonshire
65
27
71
38
61
22


East Lothian
23
61
46
37
23
55


East Renfrewshire
81
93
7
1
6
84


Edinburgh (City of)
512
401
548
561
587
567


Eilean Siar
4
-
18
38
21
2


Falkirk
46
72
46
30
42
29


Fife
48
58
3
9
13
8


Glasgow City
352
362
373
402
252
119


Highland
9
20
1
2
2
9


Inverclyde
84
26
26
23
12
18


Midlothian
-
-
6
-
-
-


Moray
1
1
-
-
-
5


North Ayrshire
69
43
31
33
47
52


North Lanarkshire
18
25
33
72
54
31


Orkney
9
-
-
-
-
1


Perth and Kinross
11
4
9
5
10
40


Renfrewshire
22
17
17
13
-
-


Scottish Borders
-
-
-
-
-
-


Shetland
1
-
-
-
1
-


South Ayrshire
6
17
31
40
23
15


South Lanarkshire
439
551
108
199
136
122


Stirling
46
58
49
44
53
46


West Dunbartonshire
38
13
37
2
63
4


West Lothian
36
29
51
184
186
66